Sirens, p.41
Sirens, page 41
Daina as she hung up her coat. me here for a bit of love potion, chile?
You an' him t or -' dead! P The fat woman's eyes got big around. ',
chile, t teb'ily sorry ' that.' She bent a little, peering's face as she
went behind the counter. ' you Lise-Marie what it is she can help you
with.' t,' Daina said, ' powerful. Very powerful. 11 or something! Marie
nodded. She put her hands together on the top. ' got pow'ful spells for
sure, chile. All kinds.' looked at her. ' want one that will kill.' a
moment there was nothing in the mojo shop but The black cat sat between
Daina and Lise-Marie, industriously at one raised forepaw. r , chile,
you're too young t'be havin' black thoughts like Lise-Marie came around
from behind the counter. She d out., took Daina's hands in her own. She
turned them up. Her pink fingertips traced the lines there as if she a
blind woman reading a braille text. if they had found what they were
looking for, Lise- )s fingers stopped their search and her eyes flicked
rd to Daina's face. The whites showed all around and was a thin film of
sweat on her black skin. ' got a pow'ful aura ' you, chile. There's
great mojo power in you.' She stepped back a pace as if she were afraid.
ill you give me what I want?' And when she got no er Daina turned away.
' don't believe you about the . I've got no power. I've got nothing
now.' Tears were g their way out despite her attempt to will them back.
ily, she wiped at her eyes. ' right for you,' she said. $ve got the
power to help me destroy the man who rdered Baba.' The name caught in
her throat and now the willpower in the world was of no use. ', Baba!'
she 356 357 cried, her shoulders shaking. Tears scalded her cheeks but
now she welcomed them. She felt Lise-Marie's arms around her, the
welcoming warmth, the sweet spice of the woman; heard the lilting voice
crooning gently, ''s all right, chile. You go ahead an' cry. Cry for
your man.' After a while, she left Daina and when she returned she was
carrying a quart cardboard box from a Chinese take-out restaurant.
"Here,' she said, delivering the parcel into Daina's hands. ''s all
inside. Most everything you need. No' - she put her hand over Daina's
-'don't open it now. Wait till you get home, Now, chile, this's what
you've got to do ...' Rubens returned from New York with an exquisite
emerald ring he had bought for her at Harry Winston. He gave it to her
as soon as he was inside the limo she had taken out to the airport to
meet him. ' was concerned about you until I saw that press conference,"
he said. ', you knocked ' dead. We felt the shock waves all the way back
in New York. You're getting more column inches than the president these
days.' She held on to him wordlessly, wondering whether she ought to
tell him about her meeting with Meyer. She thought it might be just the
wrong thing to do. She was certain he'd resent anyone's-interference
including the old man's. The ring - a square-cut emerald nestled in a
sweeping setting of platinum - radiated a cool power and, when he
plucked it from her fingertips to slip it on her, she found she was
crying. Oh, God, she thought, how I've missed him. But instead of
telling him, she reached her palm up, bringing his head down until his
lips opened against hers. She felt as if she never wanted to let him go.
' heard about Monty,' she said after a time. ', yes.
I told him just last week he was working too hard.' ''s not all you told
him, apparently.' ' I told him,' Rubens said, ' for his own good.' '
hurt him badly. He thought of you as his friend.' is had nothing at all
to do with friendship. It was s. He had no business giving you a goddamn
sob story. the hell did he think he was? He was a big boy. He've known
how to take care of himself -' He broke off, abruptly away from her. ens
-' Damn it, nov He waved off her hand. His voice was and she thought she
saw his shoulders shake as if he crying.
"Bastard bad no right to die.' His voice was so soft ad to strain to
make out what he said. ',' he red bleakly, ' had everything to do with
friendship. hing.' Ile turned around and she saw his eyes were red; d
eradicated all other traces of his tears. ', why dowt y it and get it
over with?' ay what?' I told you so." I shouldn't've let him think I
betrayed did what you thought was best.' looked at her levelly.
"D'you really think that?' cs. And, in a way you were right; he couldn't
handle it ore. But there were other ways of dealing with it. We a mess
of that, you and V She looked away for a ent. ' funeral's the day after
tomorrow. I already took of the flowers for us both.' He said nothing
and by some okln mutual consent, they left it at that. ow was'lnew
York?' Daina said. ' miss it.' bens sighed. '", tell you. I was too busy
tunnelling gh the corporate records. Schuyler confirmed everything cr
told me.' Ile put a hand on h@r thigh, searched her .'Are you all
right?' e gave him a small smile, felt warmth seep back into her. fine.
What did you find out?' nough to hang that bastard Ashley,' he said with
some m. ' had nothing when he came to me. I set him up. him go and he
proved himself. So, like a fool, I threw y the [cash.' His eyes were
bright as be leaned forward to t a cigarette. Ile took one puff, crushed
it out. ' know, ' right about these things.
They've got no taste.' He pped closed the top of the metal ashtray sunk
into the 358 359 inside of the plush door. He leaned back and sighed.
"Meyer once told me, long ago, that in business you've got to keep
everyone on a leash. "No matter what you may think at the moment," he
said, "today's best boy will turn around tomorrow and bite your head off
if you give him half a chance. It's human nature. You can't fight it,
only protect against it." ' Rubens smiled at the memory. ' the time I
thought Meyer was the most cynical bastard I'd ever met. I also thought
I could go him one better, That's what I tried to do with Ashley - give
him his head and let him run. ' wasn't Meyer right? What does Ashley do
but start to systematically screw me behind my back. Now I know better.
Meyer isn't cynical ... just realistic.' ' you confront Ashley?' ', no.
Not yet. No, I've set a little scheme going in the heart of the
corporation that he's going to run for with open arms. Me, I'd stay
away. But not Ashley. He's far too greedy, which means he's ripe for a
scam. He wants to be conned. They all do, the suckers. It's their innate
greed that pulls them under. ''ve got enough paper here' - he tapped his
elephant-hide attach6 case - ' finish him right now. But that's so cold
and bloodless, terminating him that way. I'm no organization man. ''m
sending Schuyler back to New York next week.
Tomorrow or by Wednesday at the latest, Ashley will discover a way to
funnel profits out of the corporation by assigning stock transfers to a
subsidiary corporation. It will all appear to be neat3 quick and
foolproof. And it is. Except that the second corporation doesn't exist,
at least not in reality. It's a figment of my convoluted mind, prepared
on paper by Schuyler to look as if it's been in existence since 1975!
"What makes you think he'll go for it?' Daina said. ' I've begun to put
pressure on the board of directors - as has Meyer, without Ashley
knowing it - to decline the offer of the merger Ashley's cooked up with
his friends. He says no, bat once that merger takes place, I'll be out -
and so will Meyer and all our group. ' thought he had enough support as
the board now 360 s. I've changed that. But with this stock scheme,
he'll be to build up enough percentage on his own to sway some his way -
enough to decide the issue.' He smiled. ' that's how it'll look to him.'
' want to catch him in the act?' Rubens closed his eyes. ' like that.'
He laced his rs with hers, squeezed. hen they got home they sat by the
pool. He asked her ut the weekend. She told him how much she liked the
ards, then said, ''m not sure what happened. I could've Chris was ready
to leave the band ... I know he wants And then someone dissuaded him. He
says it was Nigel.' ut you don't believe him.' N, o,' she said slowly,
as if his comment had cemented a ght she'd had. ', I don't, Rubens. I
think it's Tie.' ut she's living with Nigel.' aina ran her fingers
through her slick hair.
"Nigel's ive powers are on the wane. It's really Chris, now, who's ing
the Heartbeats. Without him the band would likely ished.' She came
closer to him. ' told me that Tie's ed Chris from the very beginning but
Jon and Chris far too close to go along with it. I don't think the case
e same with Chris and Nigel, despite what the both of say2 aybe Chris
isn't interested in her.' e looked at him. ' don't know Tie. Anyway,
I've a ing suspicion hes wanted her from the first but, because n, he's
left her alone. I think that's how she's gotten him ay. I don't know
what she'd do without that organization d her.' thought she was hard as
nails.' ell, she seems to be - on the outside. But she's weak e. She was
afraid that Maggie would convince Chris to e the band and now she's
terrified of my relationship with s. She can't believe we're not
sleeping together! ardly anyone does.' he put her arms around him. '
you, of course.' ning forward in her chair, she touched him. She put her
down, took a gentle bite at his flesh. ' missed you," she 361
whispered. ' missed you. I missed you.' He laughed. ' the midst of all
that excitement?' ' the midst of everything.' ''s dangerous.' ' like
danger.' ' of which,' he said as his hands slid down her, ' don't like
the idea of you passing out on the set like that.' She shook her head. '
was nothing. Anyway, I saw the doctor." "And?' ''m A-OK.' ', I hope so,'
he said, ' I've got a couple of more surprises for you.' ', are you
going to tell me or let me suffer like this?' ''s really done it this
time. Time magazine.' She snorted. ''re dreaming. The both of you are
hallucinating. Beryl couldn't've possibly have gotten me in Time. I'm
not that big yet.' '?' Rubens drawled. ' the Time people don't agree.
When the issue timed to the first release of Heather Duell in New York
at Christmastime hits the stands and people see your face on the cover
...' She turned to him, her eyes wide. ' know, you are nuts. I mean
certifiably. There's no way ' bet?' That stopped her.
Rubens never said ' bet?' unless he was already certain of the outcome.
She sat very still, her palms pressed against her knees. Her heart beat
in her chest like a blacksmith's hammer on his anvil.
"Christ! Who are you anyway?' He shrugged. ' here.' And when he did, she
took his head in her hands, ran her fingers through his hair. ' are you
looking for?' ',' she said. '?' ' in the devil." "Ali. those kind of
horns. Sorry. I had them clipped over a thousand years ago.' He grinned,
took her hands in his. They 362 e cold and he stroked them to warm them.
' on, a. It's you. You you, you., She came forward, her face inst his
chest. She could smell him, that combination of eries: sweat and soap
and Ralph Lauren cologne, which peculiar to him. She pressed her ear to
his chest just above left nipple, closed her eyes, listening to the
trip-hammer t of his heart as if to reassure herself. One arm slid
around her back, caressing her spine. With still against him, he leaned
over, reached his other arm towards a glass-topped bamboo table. From
its drawer produced a Swiss army knife, deep red with the cross logo
gold. He opened up one of the straight blades with a crescent
fingernail. ' you'd like to cut me,' he said..'What?' @'To see if I
bleed.' He laughed, shoved the knife at her ips hilt first. ' on.' he
recoiled as if the thing was hot. ''re crazy. No.' he pursued her,
placing the knife in her palm.
ust a little cut,' he said softly. ' won't even hurt. A quick of _P ol,
All right.' He took the knife from her loose hand. ''ll do self." And
before she could stop him, he made a slashing ontal cut across the pad
of his left forefinger. Imiately, dark red blood welled up along the
length of the beading on his skin like soft sculpture. ' see?' he said
id y, extending the finger into a shaft of sunlight so that blood shone
like a dusky ruby. Quickly then he reversed finger, placed it on her
forehead, drew a line down to the ge of her nose. ' so you know it's
real.' he studied him through the sunlight. He seemed now no r the
deeply tanned, tennis-playing producer she had ays assumed him to be.
Although there was nothing out- y different about his appearance, still
the notion persisted he had somehow metamorphosed before her eyes. ow
had it been done? she asked herself. By what magic? then she understood.
She had always been - and this was, aps, the real reason for her holding
him at arm's length 363 for so long - somewhat in awe of the sheer
quantity of Power he wielded. The power had not gone; she had merely
become used to it. And not only his power. What he had said before was
true: YOU, you, you. She recognized that it was her power - the
combination of the artistic and the business - that was currently
shaping their days and nights. ',' she whispered, taking his bleeding
finger, putting the rosy pad against her lips, smearing them. ', me,
me.1 Rubens watched this with a kind of fierce, possessive pride. He
seemed for that instant to be like Marion, who has worked so hard to set
the scene and now has the pleasure of witnessing his star actor
incandesce, surpass all expectation, enter the realm of legend. Then,
all this, neatly compacted within his intent gaze, dropped away like a
ridge of purple heather sweeping precipitously down to the stormy sea
and his eyes were once again as placid as a still pond. They took to the
water. ''ve decided, Marion and I and Simeoni from Twentieth, to take
the film to New York for just one week,' he said. ''ve booked the
Ziegfeld for the first week in December. Strictly reserved-seat
engagement backed by a ten-day media saturation campaign - no TV until
the day after the opening. We've selected the five most important
critics here and we'll fly them in on a junket for the first-night
screening and a party afterwards ... that's Beryl's baby.' He reached
out for the green rubber raft, pulled it over so they could get on.
"We'll all go in for the premrre, get as much publicity as we can, then
do the LA premi&re a week later so we can have a shot at the Oscar
nominations as well as the New York Film Critics' Awards and the Golden
Globes. You and me and Marion; Beryl, of course, and some of Twentieth's
grand fromages. There'll be plenty of interviews and coverage.' She let
her head fall back, exposing her neck, her long hair drifting like sea
grape in the water, as his lips licked at the tip of her nose, her
closed eyelids, her half-open mouth. She raised her arms over her head,
grasped his shoulders, pushing 364 down his flesh until she was half off
the raft. Cool engulfed her thighs. They stared into each other's eyes,
ting through the sunlight. They were content just to hold each other.
long time later, they became aware of the doorbell ringing ently.
uctantly he rolled off the raft, splashing into the water. swam across
the width of the pool. She watched him in id fascination as he went
through the garden and into ouse. e turned over on her back, staring
into the sky. The water d lazily all around her. She let one hand
disappear th the surface, bathed in coolness. She thought about g,
drifting off to the edge of sleep. aina!' It was Rubens calling her.
"Come on inside and Aressed. Dory's here and I want you to hear what he
has Y. J e went into the water. Beillmann,' Spengler said without
preamble when Daina into the living room. He was standing with the fat
aid over his left shoulder. She seemed to be laughing al in down, Dory,"
Rubens said, taking the other man's and leading him towards the bar.
"Let's have a drink Settle your nerves.' hat about Beillmann?' Daina
said, following them s the room. 11 tell you what -' Spengler broke away
from Rubens' His eyes were hard and fierce. He looked at Daina once re
staring directly into Rubens' face. ' said everything go at Twentieth.
Smooth as silk; no snags ere are no snags,'Rubens assured him. , yeah?'
